Children's home in Gloucester

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.2

The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people‟s ability to build positive relationships has been affected by changes in staff working at the home and the lack of planned endings when staff leave their employment in the home.  The home has had five interim managers in the last 15 months leading to a lack of consistency in the leadership and management of the home.  Behaviour management in relation to restraint is not carried out safely. This means that young people are not protected from harm.  Measures of control, discipline and restraint are not consistently evaluated for effectiveness. Neither do they provide sufficient detail of the measure used, nor include the young person‟s view. They are not, therefore, compliant with The Children‟s Home‟s Regulations 2015.  Safer Recruitment procedures have not been adhered to and fail to safeguard the young person and minimise any potential risks to them due to expose to unsuitable people. Staff have also not received

p.3

The children's home provision requires improvement because:

appropriate induction into their roles.  Staff are not adequately trained to meet the needs of the young people in the home.  Monitoring and review of the quality of care in the home is not routinely carried out.  The home‟s amended statement of purpose has not been send to HMCI as per regulations.

p.3

The children's home strengths

Young people are making progress across all areas of their development. They are engaging in education, their overall health is improving and their behaviour is less challenging.

p.4

The children's home strengths

The interim manager and staff are proactive in challenging the contribution made by partners when this fails to meet young people‟s needs, especially in education provision.

p.4

The children's home strengths

Transitions into and out of the home are well-managed and all relevant risks are assessed.

p.4

The children's home strengths

The staff and interim manager work well with families to negotiate meaningful, well-planned contact for young people.

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure:

p.5

Requirement Due date

(1) The care planning standard is that children—

p.5

Requirement Due date

(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home, in particular ensure that where possible staff who are leaving their employment within the home, plan effective endings with the young people.

p.5

Requirement Due date

(1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

p.5

Requirement Due date

(2) The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI

p.5

Requirement Due date

20: Restraint and deprivation of liberty

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure: (1) restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing— (a) injury to any person (including the child); (b) serious damage to the property of any person (including the child); (2) Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate.

p.5

Requirement Due date

(Regulation (20)(1)(a)(b)(2)) 28/12/2016 27: Appointment of manager

p.5

Requirement Due date

(1)The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children‟s home if: (a) there is no registered manager in respect of the home (Regulation (27 (1)(a)) 28/12/2016

p.6

Requirement Due date

(1)The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety (3)(d) In particular, that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(3)(d)) 28/12/2016

p.6

Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must ensure that all employees: (a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all mandatory training is completed within the appropriate time frames. 28/12/2016

p.6

Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

p.6

Requirement Due date

(1) The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out: (a) how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children's home; and (b) the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

(2) The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

p.6

Requirement Due date

(3) The registered person must ensure that— (a) within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— (i) the name of the child; (ii) details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure; (iii) the date, time and location of the use of the measure; (iv) a description of the measure and its duration; 28/12/2016 (v) details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; (vi) the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used; (vii) the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and (viii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; (b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to

p.6

Requirement Due date

do so ("the authorised person")— (i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and (ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and (c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

p.7

Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(2)(3)(a)(b)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

(1) The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. (2) In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— (a) the quality of care provided for children; (b) the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and (c) any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (3) After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (4) The registered person must—

p.7

Requirement Due date

(a) supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is 28/12/2016 completed; and (b) make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

(Regulation (45)(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b))

p.8

Information about this children's home

This home is one of several homes within a private organisation that provides care and accommodation for up to two children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, or learning disabilities.

p.9

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 02/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/10/2015 Full Good 03/03/2015 Full Adequate 24/11/2014 Interim Not judged

p.9

Requires improvement

Young people are encouraged to see the importance of educational attendance and achievement. Staff support this through transporting young people to school, attending meetings and advocating on behalf of young people. The result is that even though some young people have experienced difficulties within their educational placements they continue to attend and achieve. Staff members have helped young people in applying for apprenticeships by assisting them to write their CV‟s, this has led to a young person successfully gaining an interview, which was taking place during the inspection. This gives young people a sense of achievement and bolsters their confidence.

p.10

Requires improvement

Staff have also found inventive means of engaging young people in education by playing board games, which are not only a fun activity, but also help young people with literacy and numeracy skills. A staff member commented, „I use monopoly to help with her numeracy skills. She is always the banker and this has helped tremendously with her numeracy skills.‟

p.10

Requires improvement

Staff ensure that young people are able to gain the experiences that enable them to successfully manage their own health needs. This, along with a full programme of self-care skills and budgeting, help to prepare young people to live independently as adults. For example, a young person, as part of her transition plan, takes responsibility for prompting staff to give her medication. Should the young person not prompt staff the medication is still dispensed by staff. The young person has on occasions has forgotten to prompt staff. However this is a very good intervention, because it assists the staff team and fellow professionals to assess the level of support the young person will require when she lives independently.

p.10

Requires improvement

Contact with family and friends is well supported and encouraged by the staff team. They work in partnership with parents to make family contact as productive as possible. Family and friends are welcomed into the home and young people are also transported to and from contact in their home area. The outcome is that young people are able to repair family relationships, allowing them to build up support networks for their lives as an adult. Young people engage in a variety of recreational activities outside of the home including horse riding, trampolening and enjoy walks with staff on the promenade. Young people are also engaged in local youth clubs. This improves their health and wellbeing both physically and emotionally.

p.10

Requires improvement

The home provides a very pleasant, attractive physical environment, which is safely and promptly maintained. The quality of the furnishings has recently been improved, and the home provides for the young people‟s basic needs. Bedrooms are personalised and reflect young people‟s interests. For example, both young people have their own pet hamsters, which they keep in the dining room. Having opportunities to learn about animal welfare and take direct responsibility for their care is a positive and rewarding experience.

p.11

Requires improvement

The children and young people say that they feel safe and secure at the home. There have been no complaints and the inspector observed a relaxed and happy household.

p.11

Requires improvement

The majority of staff at the home offer a nurturing, caring approach but also do put in place clear expectations and boundaries. This means young people are able to feel safe and secure and are able to understand what is expected of them. However, when one staff member, who had formed a significant attachment with young people, moved to work in another home within the organisation, this transition, when taking account of the young people‟s experience, was not well planned. One young person commented. „she just went and I was so upset. I cut myself that weekend.‟ The young person‟s social worker commented, „it was really badly managed. A strong bond had been established and just ended with no warning.‟ This lack of planning about the effect of such changes upon young people has significantly affected them and further impacts on the broken attachments people have previously experienced in their lives.

p.11

Requires improvement

Not all staff members are up to date with mandatory training, in particular safeguarding and restraint training. Although records indicated that a date had been set, it was clear in discussions with the interim manager that this did not take place. This does not ensure that all staff members are equipped with the necessary skills to meet the needs of the young people. However, the interim manager had already raised this with the provider and is awaiting confirmation of new arrangements.

p.11

Requires improvement

Since the last inspection, there have been two incidents of physical intervention. The recording of these interventions are poor. They lack information regarding full and accurate details of the holds used. It uses jargon rather than plain language to describe how the young person was held, for example „used own body weight‟, and some other details are poorly explained. For example, it remains questionable as to whether some restraints are the „last resort‟ or whether staff need to be more effective in their de-escalation techniques. For example, the record indicated that a young person was restrained for refusing to leave the office. The effectiveness and consequences of the interventions used have also not been considered. This does not ensure that staff members are working appropriately within policies and procedures in the home. It is also a missed opportunity for the interim manager to carefully monitor practice issues and identify any common themes and trends.

p.12

Requires improvement

Additionally, the recording omits a description of any injury or medical treatment offered to the young person, or that any de-brief took place following the incident. This makes the actions of staff less accountable and creates risks for them (in terms of facing potential allegations), as well as the young people.

p.12

Requires improvement

The home‟s behaviour management policy is not consistently implemented. On occasions, responses to challenging behaviour does not provide a consistent, positive message to young people. Consequences can be disproportionate, confusing and punitive, with no clear overview of why this decision was agreed. For example, one young person who was misbehaving while travelling in a staff member‟s vehicle and was given a consequence of, „not allowed in car for 4 weeks.‟ There was no clear indication of why this measure was appropriate or whether this was a total ban on any use of vehicles for the young person. Records did not also show that the consequences given resulted in the young person learning from their actions. Although the interim manager had looked at some of the records and commented that they were not appropriate, this was not a consistent approach. This does not help staff to evaluate and identify the effectiveness of the measure

p.12

Requires improvement

used in helping young people make changes to their behaviours.

p.12

Requires improvement

Safer recruitment procedures are not always followed. For example on one recruitment file, there is no evidence of consideration that gaps in employment have been considered. There is a lack of management oversight or accountability in this area of practice and as a result, recruitment is not consistently safe. This does not safeguard young people or minimise potential risks to them from adults who have not been suitably vetted and checked.

p.12

Inadequate

Instability within the management team has caused confusion and concern among staff and young people. The home has operated without a registered manager for 11 months. During this period, five people have taken on the manager‟s role. The newest interim manager has been in post since June 2016, however only submitted the relevant paperwork to become registered manager in October 2016. The lack of a consistent manager has had a direct impact on the care received by the young people. One young person commented „There have been 5 managers since I came to live here last year. It‟s not fair because they all come in and make their own changes and we are expected just to go with it.‟

p.13

Inadequate

The monitoring and review systems within the home need to be strengthened. Although external monitoring of the home is in place, it is not yet robust. The reports from external monitoring give conflicting information. For example, one report indicates that there is soon to be another change in the management structure of the home. The interim manager commented, „that is not true. I do not find the reports robust enough and have brought this to the attention of my managers and I hope to rectify this soon.‟

p.13

Inadequate

Internal quality assurance still does not take place regularly. The manager‟s 6 monthly report under regulation 45 has not been completed; therefore some shortfalls have not been addressed. However, the new manager has now begun to work on this, to ensure the quality of care provided is regularly monitored and reviewed. This will help identify patterns and trends and improve the overall quality of care provided to young people.

p.13

Inadequate

Staff members are given regular, good-quality supervision that supports and challenges practice in order to improve the care given to young people. This is further supported by reflective team meetings and young people being at the centre of those discussions. Staff comments include, „I feel very supported now with (name of interim manager) in post. The team meeting are now good and we discuss things like attachment and how we as workers impact on young people.‟

p.13

Inadequate

There are good professional relationships between the interim manager, staff, family members and professionals involved in the lives of young people. This promotes good information sharing for the benefit of young people. A social worker commented, „They are very good at keeping me updated on any issues that may occur.‟

p.14

Inadequate

The homes statement of purpose has been updated to include the staff changes and provide a clear overview of the homes ethos, aims and objectives. A copy of this must be provided to HMCI, in line with regulation.

p.14

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

p.15

What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

p.15

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.15

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

p.16

Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.16

Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

p.17

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.17

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.17

Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.17